“What’s the next holiday coming up??” is the question I’m asked, without fail, the day after EVERY holiday. My kids super-love holidays. And, you’ve probably figured out by now, that I love traditions…SO, why not delve right into the next holiday, St. Patrick’s Day?

Do y’all know who St. Patrick is? A while back, I did a blog post on him (on my blog), and here’s what I learned…

So, this guy Patricus (otherwise known as Patrick) was born in Scotland (387 AD) to a family who was totally loaded. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by these Irish jerks that raided his family’s estate. He was brought to Ireland where he was a slave performing sheep herding duties for his master. During his 6 years of enslavement, he prayed a lot and formed a relationship with God. One day, after 6 years of being in captivity…an angel came to him and told him to escape. He ran nearly 200 miles, found a ship, hopped on and went back to Scotland. When he got back, he decided he wanted to devote his life to God and Christianity. So, he totally studied up and was a student to some of the most notable Christians (at the time). He decided he wanted to go share the love with the Irish that were so cruel to him. He sailed back and the first thing he does (being an honest man) is go to his slave master and pay the ransom that would have been due had someone rescued him. He then was a missionary of Christianity for the next 60 years. He founded 365 churches! Basically, he is known because he made a serious name for Christianity in Ireland.

How’s that for a quick history lesson? Don’t ask me why Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I’m not quite sure of the exact reason. I’ve read a few different ones. But, he sounded like a great guy, with some real integrity, who managed to influence many people for good. That’s reason enough for me to celebrate! So, let’s get started…

I know y’all have heard of the leprechaun trap tradition, the messing-up-your-house-and-blame-it-on-a-leprechaun tradition, and the green food tradition…so, I thought of a few that may be new ideas for you:

1. This one is something you would do every day of March, leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. So, for 17 days. Each day, hide a shamrock (paper cut-out, or small decoration) somewhere in your house, with something fun attached. Every morning, the kids can race to try and find the hidden shamrock. Sometimes make it easy, sometimes make it so hard that they are looking all day! If there is a child feeling left out, for not finding one, hide the next one in a spot that you think they are more likely to look.

What can you attach to your shamrock? How about a silver dollar? That would be cool! Or, any coins that you feel comfortable with giving away for 17 days. :) You could attach candy, maybe those chocolate coins. You could do dollar store junk, wrapped in green wrapping paper. Fruit snacks, coupons, or anything that would make your kids smile. You could even do something different, every day. I’m just making this up, so there are no rules. If you want to play up the leprechaun thing, you could have the “leprechaun” hiding the shamrock throughout the house, each day. My kids love when we do our Valentine’s Day treasure hunt, that I mentioned last month. So, I know they would be totally down for more hunting…especially if it was every day, for 17 days!

2. You know that jar of pennies that you’ve had stashed away, because you don’t have time to put them in rolls and exchange them at the bank? Well, St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to put them to good use. The day before St. Patrick’s Day, hide a bunch of them all around the yard (or the house, if it’s too cold.) Tell the kids that a leprechaun must have lost their coins (with your fingers crossed.) If they find at least 100 of those coins, and leave them out for the leprechaun, he will probably leave them something in return on St. Patrick’s Day, the following morning. I can’t imagine that I have to explain this, but that essentially means you need to have some sort of prize on hand to leave outside for the kids, the next morning, in exchange for the pennies. How about the bags of chocolate coins and a new movie? If you want a St. Patrick’s Day-ish movie, maybe Darby O’Gill and the Little People, The Gnome Mobile, or Gulliver’s Travels.

3. This idea is one I shared on my blog, it includes the messy-house thing…but, it’s carried out differently. We’ll call it the Leprechaun Hunt. Find somewhere with lovely green grass, wake the kids up early and go have a breakfast picnic, while quietly watching for any signs of leprechauns. If the grass isn’t so green, yet, just take them for a walk through the neighborhood, to see if any leprechauns are out and about. When you have them loaded and buckled in the car (or strollers), say you forgot something in the house, and run back in and sprinkle chocolate coins throughout the house, tip over a few chairs, put green food coloring in the toilet, and leave other signs of a little green intruder. With the mess, leave a snarky note, maybe…

“Traps, tricks, and tip toes, you never learn.

A leprechaun can outwit you at every turn.

You’ll never find me, or the gold I hide,

The luck of the Irish is on me side.”

By: Me.

When the kids come home from a disappointing/refreshing/yummy outing, they’ll be surprised to see they were duped by a leprechaun, once again. But, kids will forgive anyone that leave chocolate coins laying around. Yes, I’m big on the chocolate coins…but, those things are perfect for this holiday!

I would love to hear about your family traditions for St. Patrick’s Day!

Mariel

Mariel authors the blog, Or so she says… where she shares her most favorite ideas on parenting, homeschool, marriage, cooking, crafting, etc. She dreams about golf, traveling, reading, a cabin in Montana, and cake.